Meeting Benjamin Booker in Brooklyn!

From the BB FB page.

I got to Brooklyn about 7:30 and snagged a parking space. Got to the venue and landed a pretty decent place in line. I noticed this guy walking past looking for the entrance who I recognized to be Max Norton. Nobody noticed who he was as he tried to pass through the crowd to the door. I chickened out and didn't say hi. I get in the venue, Music Hall of Williamsburg(which is basically a maze) stopped at the merch booth (I was very disappointed in the price point of Olivia Jean merch. Her records are cheaper online) and scored a spot front row right in front of Max’s drum kit. 

OJ's Keys

Olivia Jean was up first, she came out around 9pm. She had on these really high heels. She opened with a joke that she's from Detroit, Tennessee. She seemed pretty relaxed. A little uptight, but overall comfortable, which is interesting because I've heard she lacks charisma on stage. She played mainly songs from her album. Her live version of Reminisce was absolutely incredible though, possibly better than the recording. She got more comfortable as time went on, even taking off her shoes. Having seen her before (Boston with Jack White), it was interesting to see how much better she had gotten. She was able to interact with the crowd better and you could tell that she's really improved as a performer. 

What's weird about MHOW is that they don't close curtains to take everything off stage. The sound guys and roadies were walking in front of us. The keyboard was right where I was standing and I kept having to back up so they could get by. I started making jokes with one of the sound guys/roadies about it whenever he walked past. 

So anyway Benjamin Booker comes up… What a performer. 

He just becomes so, I don't even know if words can describe it. He's just in the moment experiencing the music. He used 2 Fender twin reverb amps and he only had 3 pedals. One was a Big Muff, one was a chromatic tuner, and the other one I couldn't see. It seemed like a delay/tape echo or something. Even an Aqua Puss maybe? That's the kinda sound it had. 

He opened with one of my personal favorites, Always Waiting. Several jam sessions opened up during and between songs. He played around a lot with the feedback, at one point pulling put his lighter and using it as a slide. Badass. (He would later ask me to borrow a lighter; some guy gave him a light. I told him he should check the stage for his). One of the coolest moments involved Max Norton, who is a beast on the drums. Playing the mandolin while hitting the kick drum and hi-hat pedal while Alex Spoto, the bassist, played the violin. At some points Benjamin put down the guitar and focused on vocals during those songs, creating a real intimate moment. 

Random internet picture

Max Norton. He can play the fucking drums. Someone outside described it almost as military-training style snare drumming. I don't know about that, but there is a lot of technique and skill there and I don't think the performance would have the same effect without the connection between Benjamin and Max. 

Benjamin ended the set by throwing his guitar to the ground jumping off stage and making a real Rockstar exit, popping up on top of the balcony laughing while most of the crowd wondered where he had disappeared to.

So I watched as the sound guys and roadies put the equipment away. One of the guys got a setlist and handed it to the pretty girl next to me who he'd been making eyes at the whole night. I clearly was disappointed not to be the one to get it. Luckily for me, the guy from earlier who I had been joking with about being in the way with the keyboard noticed my disappointment and yelled "I got you!" He grabbed Max’s setlist and handed it to me. I was overjoyed. I lingered to see if they'd come out, but after a few minutes decided I should go home, as I had work the next day. 

As I walked out I noticed Alex Spoto, the bassist, standing in a group, talking. I walked over and asked him to sign my setlist, which he agreed to. He told me Ben and Max should be out shortly. I lingered and started chatting with a fellow fan while he smoked a cigarette. I caught Max on his way out. He signed my setlist and said he saw me in the front row and how the crowd was getting him so pumped. Really nice guys making up the rhythm section. I continued to linger, standing right outside the door hoping to catch Benjamin (too nervous to try and blend into the crowd Alex brought backstage, although in hindsight I bet he would have let me come in). 
 
I caught Benjamin and he signed my setlist as soon as he found someone to light his cigarette. I asked for a picture and we took one (the guy who lit his cigarette as the photographer) Benjamin wasn't happy with the photo it being too dark and requested another shot ("I'll even smile more this time for you!!"). So we took one more. A few other fans wanted photos as well, but Benjamin was distracted and was rushing to get into a cab so he could go somewhere with his friends. So I was the only fan lucky enough to score both a photo and a signature that night. 

If you have not been fortunate enough to catch Benjamin Booker live he will be touring over the summer beginning in June (dates include things such as Governors Ball and Mountain Jam). His debut album is available
now on ATO Records.

   -Alison Parker